Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr: The designers head to Wales as they pair up to work their magic on three Swansea cafes

He says: “I wasn’t interested in interior design when I started, I loved the show don’t get me wrong, but I was a bit ‘it’s only some wallpaper – get over yourself’. But, as the series went on and I saw more and more designs I realised, and I know this sounds pretentious, the power of colour and space.”

However, while Interior Design Masters may have inspired many viewers to cast a more discerning eye over their own homes, Alan believes the show, which is currently midway through its fifth series, has become a hit due to the people taking part.

Alan says: “The key to the show’s success is the designers, it’s getting the right mix, not just of personalities but design styles. This year does not disappoint: we have quirky designers, serious designers but the one thing they have in common is that they are designers who are just starting out.”

He adds: “On this show you always think that you’ve seen everything and then a designer comes along with something so uniquely beautiful, or in some cases hideously awful, but you are always surprised whether in a good way or bad!”

But while the comedian, who has been putting his own skills to the test in his show Alan & Amanda’s Italian Job, may have sometimes been taken aback by what the designers come up with, there is one mistake that happens all too often.

Alan explains: “The most common faux pas is when the designers forget the client and just do what they want to do. The client wanted high end luxury, but you like lime green and fuzzy felt so you decided to pop that on the wall instead – its madness! The amount of times we see this on the sofa and Michelle ends up telling them ‘It’s not about you!!’.

“Obviously, it makes great telly when these designers do it their way but we do end up with some unhappy clients.

He continues: “The show is fair, no one stays in because their nan’s not well or they didn’t get a Christmas present as a child, it’s whether they follow the brief. A designer will create a stunning room but if the client didn’t want that and asked for something different, you fail the task, then you will be on the sofa. That’s interior design – client is king.”

Let’s hope everyone keeps that in mind this week, as the designers work directly with clients for the first time. They are transforming three Swansea cafes, and the briefs vary from ‘Scandi-by-the-Sea’ to ‘Industrial Chic’ to ‘Home from Home’.

Will anyone be tempted to ignore that and go their own way, and if so, will they fall foul of judges Michelle Ogundehin and guest Nisha Katona?